tracking

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Dinner at Applebee's

is a chain of Franchises with over 2000 restaurants in the United States and 16 other countries. Their restaurant falls in line with others in the culinary genre known as Casual Dining. These are establishments that serve reasonably-priced food in a casual atmosphere.

In the interests of full disclosure, I was contacted by a marketing firm in Fort Lauderdale, FL to review their food and items from their new menu, The Season's Best Flavors. With the exception of the gratuity, our meal was provided gratis by the restaurant.Although not ordered this evening, some of the items on their new menu are very low in calories. For those watching their calories, these items may be a good choice for those wanting to eat out.

There were four of us, and my dining companions (DC) and I decided to eat at the Estero, FL location.

When eating here, one can eat outside

or indoors by the bar

or at a table in their indoor dining area.

We ordered a couple of starters for the table, the first being the appetizer sampler.

Garlic-flavored spinach and crispy potatoes came with my steak that was topped with a pineapple-infused barb-b-Que sauce and a sweet Vidalia onion. Not bad.

One of my DCs ordered the shrimp scampi linguine.

Linguine pasta is tossed with a citrus-flavored Scampi sauce and mixed with grilled shrimp, zucchini, Pomodoro sauce, Parmesan cheese and Basil leaves. A piece of garlic bread completed this dish. I thought it was not bad as did my dining companion that ordered it.

Another DC at the table ordered the Thai shrimp salad.

Edamame beans, almonds, shrimp, wonton strips, Peanut Sauce and cilantro are mixed with salad greens and topped with a chili-lime Vinaigrette. It too was pretty good and liked by my DC that ordered it.

The last thing that was ordered was the margarita queso chicken and shrimp.

Shrimp and grilled chicken were served over rice, cheese, corn and black beans. My DC really seemed to like this, even taking the portion that could not be finished home.

I am not a dessert fan, but everyone else at the table was. A triple chocolate meltdown was ordered at the suggestion of our server.

I tried a bit, and it was chocolate to the nth power. This is chocolate cake with a liquid chocolate center topped with two different chocolate sauces and served with vanilla ice cream. As I have said, I do not have much of a "sweet tooth" but everyone else at the table seemed to enjoy it.

The servers at this location were pretty good and the restaurant manager took the time to chat before our meal and after to see how we enjoyed everything.

Another good thing about Applebee's is their late night specials on Appetizers. The timing of their happy hour is perfect if hungry after a movie or just out late.

I had not eaten at Applebee's for many years as I try to avoid chain restaurants and support the local business person. Given the opportunity to try the food again I can say that in the context of a casual dining restaurant the food was not bad. I would come back again, especially for their happy hour specials. The service was good at this location and no matter which Applebee's you dine at, you always know what to expect as far as the food goes.

About Me

I have started this blog, Southwest Florida Forks, as I want to share my dining and food experiences with you both textually and pictorially.I love food and photography and it is my hope that through my dining/food/traveling combined with photos
I can bring to you an accurate log of my experiences.A fork can be an
eating implement used to pick things up, as well as being a point where something disperses,
perfect for a blog. You can choose to use these postings as a guide, and if not, perhaps just see life through my lens.

The content of Southwest Florida Forks is strictly personal and does not necessarily reflect the views of any other person, company or organization.